China Telecom is set to expand its data center capacity in Hong Kong and add more Points of Presence (PoPs) in North America as part of a push for more international business.
In Hong Kong, the state-owned company is taking over two buildings on an upcoming colocation campus in Tseung Kwan O, being constructed by Global Switch, and adding more space at a facility in Sha Tin.
In the US, the company has deployed networking equipment in third-party data centers in Oregon and Illinois, while in Canada, it now offers network access from Quebec.
Strike the iron while it’s hot
China Telecom is the largest fixed-line service operator and the third largest mobile network provider in China. It also owns and operates China’s largest optical fiber network.
As part of its expansion, the company is set to move into a new data center campus on the Tseung Kwan O industrial estate, being built by London-based Global Switch - a $360m project that could deliver up to 45,000 square meters of white space across five buildings, making it the largest data center in Hong Kong.
China Telecom will take over two of the buildings, and is scheduled to commence operations on the site in Q4 2017. The deal is the result of a partnership between China Telecom, Global Switch and Daly-Tech, announced in April 2017. That partnership, in turn, is widely seen as a response to the major investment made into Global Switch by a Chinese consortium callled Elegant Jubilee, led by Li Qiang, CEO of Daily-Tech.
To boost its presence in Hong Kong even further, China Telecom is adding another floor to its existing facility in the district of Sha Tin, expected to open in April 2017.
Meanwhile, China Telecom Americas (CTA) has introduced three new PoPs, located at Viawest data center in Hillsboro, Oregon; at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange facility in Aurora, Illinois; and at the Cologix data center in Montreal, Quebec.
“China Telecom is proud to be enhancing its Hong Kong data center portfolio with the expansion of its best-in-class Sha Tin facility and the addition of a new site at Tseung Kwan O in partnership with Global Switch,” said CTA President Joe Han. “Equally, we look forward to China Telecom Americas’ points of presence in Oregon and Illinois playing a key role in our North American data transmission and end-to-end network services.
“China Telecom’s latest investment in Hong Kong data centers and North America points of presence means our customers can expect reliable, low-latency, worldwide connectivity. This will enable them to deploy applications fast and flexibly.”